VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $276.71 and last traded at $272.79, with a volume of 1387120 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $252.59.
The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 37.65%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.
Get Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
VeriSign Stock Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $244.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.88.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign
In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
VeriSign Company Profile
(
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VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.
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